Pro Tip: There’s More to Cleveland Golf Than Great Wedges

For many golfers, their memories of Cleveland Golf include a trusty 588 wedge or Tour Action irons. Founded by Roger Cleveland in 1979, the early years of the company saw Cleveland producing replicas of popular clubs from the ‘40s and ‘50s, hence their original name -- Cleveland Classics.

The aforementioned 588 wedge was introduced in, you guessed it, 1988 and immediately found its way into innumerable golf bags. Just as these Cleveland wedges were taking off, ski manufacturer Rossignol bought the company from Roger Cleveland in 1990.

Rossi (as they’re known in the ski world) attempted to infuse their high-tech thinking from skis into Cleveland golf clubs and officially changed the company’s name to Cleveland Golf.

Famously during this time, Cleveland Golf also produced one of the most unique sets of irons ever to win a major championship: the VAS (Vibration Absorbing System) irons had a purple shock-absorbing badge, was shaped like an oversize teardrop and had an inset hosel. They worked for Corey Pavin, who won seven times using these irons; they are now legendary in the quirky equipment category.

The intervening years saw the company bought and sold to Quicksilver (surf company), and again to SRI Sports, LTD, a subsidiary of Japanese global tire and rubber company Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. SRI Sports owns and operates the family of golf brands Cleveland Golf, Srixon and XXIO.

While Cleveland Golf is still known for their wedges, their other golf clubs are designed for recreational golfers to make hitting the golf ball high and far as easy as possible. With their goal of using “state of the art materials, cutting-edge processes and proprietary technologies” at a fair price point, Cleveland has done just that.

Cleveland Drivers Are Classic

Back in the day when persimmon drivers were the only game in town, Cleveland Golf made some of the best oil hardened persimmon drivers on the market.

In fact, back in 2004, Nike Golf’s former master club designer commissioned one of the few persimmon club manufacturers to make a replica Cleveland Classic driver for Tiger Woods. Why? Believe it or not, Tiger liked to practice with the persimmon driver in the off-season to hone his ball striking.

Even after the days of persimmon were in the rearview mirror, Cleveland Golf produced what we’d call ‘cult classic’ drivers. Those drivers that, if they found their way into a golfer’s bag, were liable to stay there until they broke but also inspired golfers to remain devoted to the Cleveland brand for years.

One example of Cleveland Golf drivers was the original Launcher driver, used by the likes of Vijay Singh during his run of major championships. Or the Cleveland Classic that was painted to look like an old Cleveland Classic persimmon but was very much a modern driver. It was notoriously used by Keegan Bradley for years (well after multiple product cycles) because he liked it so much.

The newest evolution in the Cleveland Golf driver lineup is the Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo driver, which features variable face thickness that leads to increased ball speed and more distance. The top of the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo driver features the HiBore Crown, which lowers the center-of-gravity, while the ultralight hosel redistributes weight low and deep for a higher launch and more forgiveness.

Cleveland Golf also repositioned mass in the driver head for significant increases to MOI, delivering more speed. Finally, specifically designed for the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo Driver, the Miyazaki C. Kua shaft's center of gravity is relocated higher toward the grip, enabling additional head mass for increased MOI.

Cleveland Fairway Woods Are Easy to Hit

Cleveland Golf fairway woods have pretty much always been like smaller siblings to their drivers. But back in the early 2000s, if you didn’t have a Launcher driver, you might have had a Launcher 3-wood. The Cleveland Launcher 3-woods set up nicely to most golfers’ eyes and could be played from just about anywhere on the course.

The biggest difference in technology in the Cleveland Golf fairway woods comes in the form of technology that helps get the ball up in the air.

Since the Cleveland Classic woods have ‘rails’ to help them glide across fairways and through rough, Cleveland Golf fairway woods have been technologically advanced through repositioning weight in the sole to launch the ball quickly and high in the air.

Continuing this legacy are the Cleveland Golf Launcher HB Turbo fairway woods, which are designed to maximize distance with relative ease. These Cleveland Golf fairway woods feature all the same great technology as the Cleveland drivers but in a smaller, fairway wood-sized package.

Cleveland Golf’s Launcher HB Turbo Fairway Woods bring more speed when hitting off the tee or going for the green in two. Like the Cleveland Golf driver, the Launcher HB Turbo fairway woods feature a Cup Face to deliver more ball speed for more distance. The Launcher HB Turbo was also designed by repositioning weight lower and deeper in the clubhead to achieve its goal.

Cleveland Irons Look Great and Feel Even Better

As mentioned above, Cleveland Golf has a history of producing both quirky irons (VAS) and absolute classics (Tour Action). Most recently, Cleveland Golf has focused on pushing the envelope on what’s possible in the ‘game improvement’ iron category. Again, this mission is all about using technology to help average golfers play better and have more fun.

Cleveland Golf’s Launcher HB Turbo irons are big, fast and forgiving as forgiveness gets. These irons begin with a high strength steel face that delivers more ball speed for more distance. The firmer and thinner the face, the farther you can hit a golf ball. The fully hollow construction provides ultimate forgiveness, while the HiBore Crown produces a high launch ball flight. It all adds up to the easiest-to-hit irons Cleveland Golf has ever made.

Golfers will immediately notice the progressive look of the Launcher HB Turbo irons. The long irons look like hybrids to increase confidence at address, while the technology helps players get the ball airborne and fly further than a typical game improvement iron. The shorter irons look more like traditional Cleveland golf irons.

This progressive shaping provides a smooth transition from hybrid-like long irons to iron-like short irons. It’s a seamless changeover with forgiveness where you need it and control where you want it.

Cleveland Wedges Strike Again

Since Cleveland Golf was founded by Roger Cleveland, the company has been synonymous with wedges. Ever since the 588 wedge, golfers can count on Cleveland to produce trusty wedges with desirable spin, feel and versatility. Roger Cleveland remains one of the original wedge gurus in golf, and the company that still bears his name remains one of the top wedge producers in the industry.

So, if you’re looking for a great wedge, look no further than Cleveland Golf. Whether you require tour-proven wedges or a game-improvement offering, Cleveland Golf has the wedge for you. Cleveland offers three distinct finishes, including black satin, tour satin and tour raw. Cleveland Golf also offers standardized loft options for your pitching, gap, sand or lob wedges ranging from 46° to 64°.

Since 1979, Cleveland wedges have been in the hands of some of the best players to play this game. To this day, the Cleveland Golf 588 wedge remains one of the best-selling golf clubs of all time. That lineage is still found in Cleveland’s wedges today. The RTX ZipCore wedges continue Cleveland Golf’s tradition of clean lines, crisp feel and optimal spin for every player from any lie.

The brand new RTX ZipCore wedges deliver enhanced control, more spin and unmatched durability to last you round after round. ZipCore is a unique, low-density core that sits at the heart of RTX. ZipCore shifts the center of gravity while raising MOI, adding spin, enhancing control and boosting consistency on all your shots.

The new grooves on these Cleveland Golf wedges are sharper, deeper and narrower. They bite harder, channel more debris (stay cleaner) and line up closer together for more groove contact on every shot. All of these design elements add up to a wedge with great spin. In addition, a measured blast of heat increases the wedge’s durability.

Cleveland Putters Known for Feel

Over the years, Cleveland Golf has never been known as a putter-first company. They sought to change that when they brought legendary putter Ben Crenshaw into the company about a decade ago as a putter design consultant. While no longer part of the company, Crenshaw brought a great reputation and some classic styles to Cleveland’s putter selection.

Recently, Cleveland Golf has pushed the envelope with its putter technology; their TFi 2135 putters feature a milled copper insert and a sight alignment aid that was designed to make sure golfers’ eyes were directly over the ball and the putter was square to the target line.

Because the TFi 2135 putters could be improved by feel, Cleveland Golf was inspired to prioritize feel in their subsequent putter lines.

When Cleveland Golf released its first Huntington Beach putters, they were heralded as some of the best feeling putters on the market and their price point took many by surprise (in a good way). Now, Cleveland Golf’s Huntington Beach SOFT putters come with a unique milling pattern on each putter shape that ensures total optimization across the entire Huntington Beach SOFT family and a lower center of gravity to enhance stability for softer feeling putts that go straight.

The Cleveland Golf putters, like the Huntington Beach SOFT lineup, include six different head shapes, each of which is familiar to basically every golfer. If you have more of an arcing stroke and prefer a blade, check out the 3, 4 and 8 models. Whereas if you have more of a straight-back/straight-through stroke, you probably prefer a mallet, there’s the 10.5, 11 and 14 head shapes.

These Cleveland Golf putters are made from soft 304 Stainless Steel that feels extremely soft and produces a consistent roll across the face.

Everyone knows putter feel and sound go hand-in-hand, and the Cleveland Golf Huntington Beach Soft putters produce both the sound and feel most players desire. When combined with your favorite head shape, don’t be surprised when you start sinking more putts with these Cleveland putters.